Syria says al-Qaida linked group's leader killed

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, dead bodies of Syrian rebels are seen on the ground after fighting with Syrian government forces according to SANA, near the Otaiba area, near Damascus, Syria, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Syrian government troops on Friday ambushed rebels near the capital, Damascus, killing at least 40 opposition fighters, state media reported. The ambush was part of the military's offensive against rebel strongholds around President Bashar Assad's seat
— AP

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, dead bodies of Syrian rebels are seen on the ground after fighting with Syrian government forces according to SANA, near the Otaiba area, near Damascus, Syria, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Syrian government troops on Friday ambushed rebels near the capital, Damascus, killing at least 40 opposition fighters, state media reported. The ambush was part of the military's offensive against rebel strongholds around President Bashar Assad's seat
/ AP

In this photo made from video released late Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a chemical weapons expert works at a chemical weapons plant at an unknown location in Syria. Norway has turned down a U.S. request to receive the bulk of Syria's chemical weapons for destruction because it doesn't have the capabilities to complete the task by the deadlines given, the Norwegian foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/SANA)— AP

In this photo made from video released late Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a chemical weapons expert works at a chemical weapons plant at an unknown location in Syria. Norway has turned down a U.S. request to receive the bulk of Syria's chemical weapons for destruction because it doesn't have the capabilities to complete the task by the deadlines given, the Norwegian foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/SANA)
/ AP

In this photo made from video released late Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a chemical weapons expert works at a chemical weapons plant at an unknown location in Syria. Norway has turned down a U.S. request to receive the bulk of Syria's chemical weapons for destruction because it doesn't have the capabilities to complete the task by the deadlines given, the Norwegian foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/SANA)— AP

In this photo made from video released late Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a chemical weapons expert works at a chemical weapons plant at an unknown location in Syria. Norway has turned down a U.S. request to receive the bulk of Syria's chemical weapons for destruction because it doesn't have the capabilities to complete the task by the deadlines given, the Norwegian foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/SANA)
/ AP

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, destroyed weapons and ammunitions carried by Syrian rebels like at the site after they were killed by Syrian government forces according to SANA, near the Otaiba area, near Damascus, Syria, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Syrian government troops on Friday ambushed rebels near the capital, Damascus, killing at least 40 opposition fighters, state media reported. The ambush was part of the military's offensive against rebel strongholds around — AP

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, destroyed weapons and ammunitions carried by Syrian rebels like at the site after they were killed by Syrian government forces according to SANA, near the Otaiba area, near Damascus, Syria, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Syrian government troops on Friday ambushed rebels near the capital, Damascus, killing at least 40 opposition fighters, state media reported. The ambush was part of the military's offensive against rebel strongholds around
/ AP

In this photo made from video released late Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a chemical weapons expert works at a chemical weapons plant at an unknown location in Syria. Norway has turned down a U.S. request to receive the bulk of Syria's chemical weapons for destruction because it doesn't have the capabilities to complete the task by the deadlines given, the Norwegian foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/SANA)— AP

In this photo made from video released late Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, a chemical weapons expert works at a chemical weapons plant at an unknown location in Syria. Norway has turned down a U.S. request to receive the bulk of Syria's chemical weapons for destruction because it doesn't have the capabilities to complete the task by the deadlines given, the Norwegian foreign minister said Friday. (AP Photo/SANA)
/ AP

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, weapons and ammunition are seen on the ground which were carried by Syrian rebels after they were killed by Syrian government forces, according to SANA, near the Otaiba area, near Damascus, Syria, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Syrian government troops on Friday ambushed rebels near the capital, Damascus, killing at least 40 opposition fighters, state media reported. The ambush was part of the military's offensive against rebel strongholds — AP

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, weapons and ammunition are seen on the ground which were carried by Syrian rebels after they were killed by Syrian government forces, according to SANA, near the Otaiba area, near Damascus, Syria, Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. Syrian government troops on Friday ambushed rebels near the capital, Damascus, killing at least 40 opposition fighters, state media reported. The ambush was part of the military's offensive against rebel strongholds
/ AP

Friday's one-line report, which could not be immediately confirmed, says Abu Mohammad al-Golani was killed in the coastal province of Latakia. It did not say when or give other details. Opposition groups had no immediate comment on the report.

Rebels have gained footholds in mountainous regions of Latakia, which is largely loyal to President Bashar Assad.

The extremist group, also known as Nusra Front, is on a U.S. State Department list of terrorist organizations. The group has emerged as one of the most effective among rebel groups fighting Assad.

Al-Golani's death would be a huge blow to rebels who have been fragmented and outgunned by Assad's forces.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Syrian troops killed at least 40 opposition fighters in an ambush Friday near Damascus, the government said, leaving their bloodied bodies strewn on rocks near a dried-out lake along with scattered rifles and ammunition.

President Bashar Assad's forces backed by Lebanese Hezbollah gunmen also seized control of a rebel ammunition supply route on a highway linking the capital to its eastern suburbs - part of a blistering government offensive to bolster its position amid an international push for peace talks.

Assad's forces have been gaining ground in rebel-held areas around the capital, the seat of his power, and have made progress against outgunned and fragmented fighters in several areas.

On Friday, the state-run news agency SANA said 40 rebels died in the ambush near Otaiba, adding that soldiers seized a large arms cache, including anti-tank rockets.

The area is part of a region known as Eastern Ghouta, which was the scene of a horrific chemical weapons attack in August believed to have killed hundreds.

The state-run Al-Ikhbariya television station broadcast footage showing more than a dozen bodies near the largely dried-out Otaiba lake, some wearing flak jackets strapped with ammunition. Automatic rifles and hand grenades lay nearby.

"Eastern Ghouta is a graveyard of terrorists," read a scroll on the broadcast.

An unidentified Syrian army officer in the area told Al-Ikhbariya that there were foreign fighters among the dead and that the ambush followed an intelligence tip.

"It was a highly accurate operation," the officer said. "We will be moving from one victory to another."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks Syria's crisis, said at least 24 fighters, some of them foreign, were killed in the ambush. The Observatory gave no further details and the differing death tolls could not be immediately reconciled.

The offensive coincides with an international push for a peace conference to be held in Geneva. Both sides want to bolster their position on the ground ahead of the talks, expected next month. No final date has been set, however, and it is unclear whether the sides will reach an agreement on the agenda.

The Supreme Military Council, which brings together a collection of loosely-knit rebel brigades under the emblem of the Free Syrian Army, said Friday it refused to sit down with Syrian officials involved in killing Syrians. Comments carried by the Syrian National Coalition, the group's political wing, also dismissed the proposed talks for lacking a way to reach concrete results.